2010 CPS awards recognize outstanding contributions to child and youth health

OTTAWA — Recognized as the highest honour in Canadian paediatrics, the Canadian Paediatric Society’s awards program acknowledges paediatricians and other health professionals for their outstanding contributions to the health and well-being of children and youth.

The 2010 recipients are:

Ross Award

The Society’s most prestigious honour, recognizing outstanding contributions to the care of children and youth, goes to Dr. Roger Tonkin, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Paediatrics at University of British Columbia. Dr. Tonkin is an acknowledged mentor and visionary in health care initiatives for children and youth in British Columbia, Canada and around the world.

Career Research Award

The Career Research Award for excellence in Canadian child and youth research goes to husband-and-wife team, Drs. Peter and Carol Camfield for their work on the day-to-day care of children with a wide range of neurological disorders. The strength of their work as a team has been compared to that of Pierre and Marie Curie.

Victor Marchessault Advocacy Award

Dr. Natalie Yanchar will receive the Victor Marchessault Advocacy Award which honours individuals or organizations who have made outstanding contributions to Canada’s children and youth at the local, provincial, or national level. Dr. Yanchar is well-known for her ability to objectively provide facts and data in a way that can influence a broad audience. She is being honoured for her contributions to injury prevention legislation and guidelines. Dr.Yanchar is an associate professor of surgery and emergency medicine at Dalhousie University and the medical director at IWK Trauma Care in Halifax.

Michel Weber Education Award

Dr. Anna Jarvis is being honoured with the 2010 Michel Weber Education Award which recognizes a CPS member whose work in medical and/or inter-professional education has had a significant and positive impact on learners in child and youth health. A respected role model for patient communication, Dr. Jarvis is actively involved in student development and has trainees now working throughout the world. She is associate dean for the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

Distinguished Community Paediatrician Award

The 2010 Distinguished Community Paediatrician Award goes to Drs Moshe Ipp and Gary Smith for showing strong commitment to child and youth health and safety in their respective communities.

Dr. Ipp, professor and clinician teacher in Toronto, is being recognized for his contributions to office-based research. His research has helped to change behaviour in local hospitals, national nursing and community-based physician practices, as well as public health policy.

Dr. Smith, medical director with the Department of Paediatrics at Orillia Soldiers Memorial Hospital, is a well-respected authority in community paediatrics in both his region and across the country. He is being honoured for his mentorship and active involvement in academia and his community in Orillia.

Noni MacDonald Award

This year’s Noni MacDonald Award goes to Dr. Daniel Trefler, author of Quality is free: A cost-benefit analysis of early child development initiatives. The award recognizes an article, published in Paediatrics & Child Health, which has positively affected paediatric medicine. In his article, Dr. Trefler makes a convincing case for the importance of early childhood interventions by summarizing the strong evidence that early childhood development dollars pay off in tangible ways

All CPS awards, with the exception of the Noni MacDonald Award, will be presented at the 87th CPS Annual Conference—June 22-26, 2010 in Vancouver, B.C.  

About the Canadian Paediatric Society

The Canadian Paediatric Society is a national advocacy association that promotes the health needs of children and youth. Founded in 1922, the CPS represents more than 3,300 paediatricians, paediatric subspecialists and other child health professionals across Canada.